Introduction to Costa Rica's Beneficio Don Mayo Processing Plant - Costa Rican Coffee

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Don Mayo Processing Plant: A Leader in Costa Rican Coffee

Aiming to become a leader in Costa Rican coffee, the Don Mayo Processing Plant has a history of 15 years but is actually quite young—the family cooperative was established in 1994, but it wasn't until 2005 that they set up their own processing plant. The plant is located in Tarrazú—about five kilometers north of San Marcos town—shouldering the responsibility of developing processing techniques and executing post-harvest processing for ten affiliated coffee estates. Since these estates are situated on mountain slopes at elevations ranging from 1500 to 1950 meters, all coffee produced by Don Mayo is of SHB (Strictly Hard Bean) grade.

Traditional Excellence in Washed Coffee

Traditionally, Costa Rica has always taken pride in their washed coffee—uniformly hand-picking ripe red-purple berries and strictly controlling the soaking and fermentation process. The precise degree of fermentation—neither too much nor too little—achieves an excellent balance between clarity and complexity. Even today, many would agree that Costa Rican beans are among the finest washed coffees in the world.

The Rise of Honey Processing

However, in recent years, this tradition has no longer dominated—a more innovative "dry" processing method has become trendy, with micro-processing plants emerging one after another. Since water consumption is only 5% of that required by traditional washed processing plants, and they don't need large water tanks and drying fields—these micro-processing plants can be located away from riverbanks. Additionally, the required investment is relatively much smaller, making it affordable for many independent estates or small cooperatives. More importantly, new processing methods combined with skilled and bold estate owners have created "honey processed coffee" characterized by low acidity, increased complexity, and rich, sweet aromatics—this has become the coveted target in the coffee industry in recent years. Among them, outstanding examples have shined in major competitions in recent years, greatly enhancing the international reputation of various estates—such as: Brumas, Herbazu, Helsar, Las Lajas, Don Mayo, Montes de Oro...

The Art of Honey Processing

Since the characteristics of honey processed coffee depend to a high degree on the settings of the pulp remover—the more pulp retained, the more pronounced the honey processing characteristics. Of course, producing coffee with the most distinctive honey processing characteristics requires taking some risks, because the more pulp retained, the higher the risk of over-fermentation. Perhaps it's due to the microclimate conditions of the processing plant location (sunlight amount/rainfall probability/air humidity...), or perhaps it's the skill of the processor, or maybe purely the processor's preference. Therefore, even coffees all called "Honey Coffee" actually have varying degrees of honey processing characteristics.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests brewing parameters:

Pour-over: V60 dripper, Fuji R440 grinder setting 3.5, water temperature around 90°C

French Press: Recommended grinder setting 4, water temperature 90°C

Siphon: Recommended grinder setting 4, water temperature 90°C~91°C

AeroPress: Recommended grinder setting 3.5, water temperature 90°C

Important Notice :

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